Redeemer Church Mauritius
Growing in the Practice of Prayer - Phil Kendon
Redeemer Church has started the year 2024 with the theme of prayer. We want to develop a lifestyle of prayer, to have prayer as part of our culture - not just one of the values that we hang on the wall but one of the practices that define our lives and our community. We have been building up to this coming week, where we have several prayer activities planned as an opportunity for us all to grow in the practice of prayer and to develop our relationship with God.
Locations & Times
Redeemer Church Mauritius
Mauritius
Sunday 9:30 AM
1. Growing in Quality
Matthew 6:5–8 (NIV)
And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
- Prayer should be authentic, not just an accumulation of words.
Matthew 6:5–8 (NIV)
And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
- Prayer should be authentic, not just an accumulation of words.
2. Growing in substance
Matthew 6:16–18 (NIV)
When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
- Fasting is a way of saying that we need God more than anything else in our lives.
Matthew 6:16–18 (NIV)
When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
- Fasting is a way of saying that we need God more than anything else in our lives.
3. Growing in community
Luke 11:1 (NIV)
One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”
- Listening to someone else pray helps you grow in prayer.
Luke 11:1 (NIV)
One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”
- Listening to someone else pray helps you grow in prayer.
4. Growing in faith
Matthew 7:9–11 (NIV)
Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!
- Praying with faith is believing that God is trustworthy and that the way he answers our prayer is the very best gift he could possibly give.
Matthew 7:9–11 (NIV)
Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!
- Praying with faith is believing that God is trustworthy and that the way he answers our prayer is the very best gift he could possibly give.
Let's Apply It:
Let this be the week you grow in the practice of prayer.
Let this be the week you grow in the practice of prayer.
